Truck driving schools, and more specifically those that are nationally recognized, are responsible for training the thousands of students who are then able to successfully take their place in this dynamic industry. It is common knowledge that certain truck driving schools produce the best drivers. These graduates are highly sought after because the trucking companies know that they have been taught correctly. This means a lot when you are about to hand over the keys to a truck worth several hundred thousand dollars.
There are many issues that set good truck driving schools head and shoulders above the rest. The first is that the school must offer PTDI courses. In 1986, the Professional Truck Driving Industry developed certification standards for truck driver courses. This was the first time that the industry recognized any teaching programs for their entry-level drivers, and it has been a huge turning point in producing professional, safe drivers. These standards include not just the area of driving skills, but also includes the actual course or program.
Another important issue of course is for students to be taught by well qualified instructors. Not only do they need to possess the necessary driving skills and experience, but they also need good communication skills, and plenty of patience. Students who like and respect their instructor will not only learn quicker, but will perform much better at all their given tasks. There is a great deal of time that must be spent in the classroom during a truck driving course, and a great number of things that must be learned. Good teachers always produce the best drivers.
Many truck driving schools train their students on ill-repaired and outdated equipment. This is often a cost-saving measure which does the student no good at all.
Trucking companies need students who once qualified, can easily make the move into their fleet of trucks. If the training has been carried out on some old clonker which should have been retired 20 years ago, then considerable time and expense has to be spent in familiarizing the novice driver with modern equipment. Naturally at well recognized truck driving schools you would expect to be trained on the latest, well maintained equipment so that the transition from school to employment is easy,
Issues such as student to teacher ratio is also important, particularly when it comes to the actual driving part of the program. Each student needs as much individual driving time as possible. Some schools have a bad habit of inflating the driving hours, when in actual fact you spend a great deal of time observing other students driving whilst waiting your turn. Even though this has some merit, it is no substitute and students should always clarify this issue before enrolling at any truck driving school.
Because there is such a huge shortage of truck drivers in the USA, truck driving schools have been incorporated into many of the colleges throughout all states. This has made a huge difference to the affordability of the courses, and it has meant that students are able to begin their training whilst in their last years of college. Many of these students will leave college having obtained their commercial driver's license and walk straight into a job paying around $35,000 per year. More and more of these schools are also offering PTDI courses, which is providing the industry with the highly trained and safe drivers that it so desperately needs.
Truck driving schools are the subject of Sam Ness' latest review of the career path for the intending truckers. Truck driving Schools.
